Pen letter to Under Secretary McCarthy advocating for Army expansion into Texas

HOUSTON, Texas – U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and John Cornyn (R-Texas), along with Gov. Greg Abbott, penned a letter to Under Secretary of the U.S. Army, Ryan McCarthy, advocating for Texas to host the new Army Futures Command. Among the cities under consideration are Houston, Austin, and Dallas.

According to the Army, establishment of the Army Futures Command is the most significant Army reorganization effort since 1973. Army Futures Command will be the fourth Army Command and will be tasked with driving the Army into the future and implementing the Army’s top six modernization priorities. The Army has notified 15 cities that they are under consideration. Among them are Houston, Austin, and Dallas, each of which has the right combination of talent, commercial and academic innovation, and high quality of life, that the Army should prioritize in deciding where to locate the command.

“Locating Army Futures Command in Texas would provide unparalleled access to the business community, given that Texas was recently named as Chief Executive Magazine’s “Best State for Business” for the 13th consecutive year,” Cruz, Cornyn, Abbott wrote. “With more than 50 Fortune 500 companies calling Texas home, our state would meet and exceed your expectations for this new command.”

“Finally, Texas is home to a total of 15 active military installations and more than 200,000 associated personnel. As evidenced by the Army’s large presence across our state from Fort Hood, Fort Bliss, Red River Army Depot, the Corpus Christi Army Depot, and Fort Sam Houston at Joint Base San Antonio; the Army Futures Command and these new Soldiers would be welcomed with open arms.”

We were pleased to receive your letter announcing that Houston, Austin, and Dallas, will compete to host the Army’s new Future Command Headquarters, and write in strong support of these Texas sites as the home for this new command.

We recognize the significant importance of modernizing our force to meet the challenges outlined in the President’s National Security Strategy and National Defense Strategy. As the Army adapts to confront these growing strategic challenges, we must work together to preserve our ability to deter aggression and promote peace through strength.

It is clear to us that the Army’s Futures Command and the six primary modernization priorities represent an opportunity to shape the force of the future to confront these challenges head-on. Moreover, we believe that Texas is uniquely positioned to help the Army accomplish this mission.

In your letter, you stated your desire for this headquarters to be “located near leading academic and commercial institutions” to harness “the best talent possible in emerging technology and innovation.” The growing success of Defense Innovation Unit Experimental (DIUx) in Austin is an example of what our state has already achieved and highlights Texas’ ability to bring a non-traditional organization into a community and succeed.

As you may know, Texas universities and research institutions continue to lead the world in Research & Development with academic expenditures reaching $2.1 billion. Texas is the proud home to three Carnegie Foundation Tier 1 research universities: the University of Texas, Texas A&M and the University of Houston. This has fostered a culture of innovation and contributed to the sustained growth of the second largest civil workforce in the Nation, as well as the addition of over two million new jobs in the last decade, with this growth projected to continue.

Locating Army Futures Command in Texas would provide unparalleled access to the business community, given that Texas was recently named as Chief Executive Magazine’s “Best State for Business” for the 13th consecutive year. With more than 50 Fortune 500 companies calling Texas home, our state would meet and exceed your expectations for this new command.

Finally, Texas is home to a total of 15 active military installations and more than 200,000 associated personnel. As evidenced by the Army’s large presence across our state from Fort Hood, Fort Bliss, Red River Army Depot, the Corpus Christi Army Depot, and Fort Sam Houston at Joint Base San Antonio; the Army Futures Command and these new Soldiers would be welcomed with open arms.

We, and the entire Lone Star State, stand ready to support you in this effort.